Practical Boundary Surveying ― Legal and Technical Principles

This complete guide to boundary surveying provides landowners, land surveyors and students with the necessary foundation to understand boundary surveying techniques and the common legal issues that govern boundary establishment. Far from a simple engineering function, boundary establishment is often a difficult and delicate matter, with real monetary and legal ramifications if not accomplished accurately. This book helps readers to understand why such challenges exist and what remedies may be available. Using only simple and logically explained mathematics, the principles and practice of boundary surveying are demystified for those without prior experience and the focused coverage of pivotal issues such as easements and setting lot corners will aid even licensed practitioners in untangling thorny cases. Practical advice on using both basic and advanced instruments is included, alongside clear explanations of legal regulations that will impact any surveyor’s work. For those who desire a more in-depth treatment of the mathematical aspects of boundary surveying, the Appendix includes the underlying theory and many examples of typical calculations performed by boundary surveyors.

Paul L. Gay is an attorney and licensed land surveyor with 35 years of experience in the field. Mr. Gay has taught in the Engineering Division at Bristol Community College. He has developed and taught a course on wind power under a grant from the National Science Foundation. He is developing a new Land Surveying legal course under a grant from the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers. He currently specializes primarily in boundary surveying, with a special interest in boundary dispute resolution. Mr. Gay has served as an expert witness in many trials involving land and boundary issues from Massachusetts and Rhode Island to Alaska. He has written books and articles on surveying, geology, local history and wind power, as well as Survey, a computer program for surveying calculations, Metrology, a Windows units conversion program, and Tide, a program for calculating tides for any date at many U.S. coastal locations. He is also President of Solar Star Energy Inc. which sites and installs photovoltaic solar systems. Due to his expertise in designing wind turbines, controls for wind power systems, and land use and siting, his unique skill-set makes him a sought-after resource for businesses and individuals exploring the option of adding renewable energy installations to their properties. Mr. Gay holds a B.S. degree in sociology from the University of Massachusetts, a ScM degree in geological sciences from Brown University and a J.D. degree from New England School of Law.